Sir – Oxford’s air quality continues to be a problem. This is important given increasing evidence of damage done by emissions to both the environment and human health.
Anyone who drives a car or a van can do something to help. Every day we see drivers sitting in their stationary vehicles with the engine running while they wait for passengers, talk on mobile phones, read the paper, eat lunch, or look at order books.
Drivers do not seem to be aware that this is when vehicle emissions are at their most polluting and dangerous. It is astonishing to see parent drivers chatting to friends outside schools while infants and children, including their own, are exposed to the full blast from their car exhausts.
Turning off your engine when stationary is simple and would make a real difference.
Margaret Pelling, Oxford